Kim accelerates missile testing as US focuses on Iran

 North Korea has been carrying out a greater number of missile tests since the war in Iran broke out.

Kim Jong-un is taking advantage of the US being distracted in the Middle East, making a statement to the world that boosting his country’s nuclear capabilities is his top priority.

Since late February, Pyongyang has conducted five missile launches, including four in April – the most in a single month since January 2024, according to AFP.

One recent test, conducted last week and overseen directly by Kim, included short-range ballistic missiles armed with cluster munitions.

In late March, the regime tested an upgraded solid-fuel engine, which can be used to launch weapons that could reach the mainland US.

The missile tests often coincide with military activities in the region, especially those conducted by South Korea, such as its annual military drills with the US, known as Freedom Shield, which ran in March.

Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at the South’s Kyungnam University, told AFP that the latest tests seemed to be part of a “sophisticated strategy” by Pyongyang to capitalise on the US’s current focus on the Middle East and shifting global dynamics.

“The current global security landscape has transformed into a ‘lawless zone’ where existing international norms no longer function,” he said, adding that North Korea was “exploiting this vacuum” to complete its nuclear arsenal.

The war in Iran has shrunk US stockpiles and forced Washington to move weapon systems and troops out of the Indo-Pacific region, prompting concern around weakened deterrence against North Korea and China.

North Korea carried out its first nuclear tests in 2006 and since then has accelerated the expansion of its nuclear programme. The regime is believed to have a stockpile of approximately 50 nuclear warheads.

Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said earlier this month that North Korea had made “very serious” advances ⁠in its ability to produce nuclear weapons.

New satellite images released by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies also found that Pyongyang had completed what was likely to be a new uranium enrichment centre in the western city of Yongbyon.

In March, Kim said North Korea’s status as a nuclear state was “irreversible” and that building a “self-defensive nuclear deterrent” was essential for the country’s security and regional stability.